74 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • DECEMBER 2017 74 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • SEPTEMBER 2017 74 LONGISLANDPRESS.CO M • SEPTEMBER 201-----------TUTU111
DESTINATIONS
Port Jefferson: from shipbuilding
hub to tourist haven
Dickensian characters such as Father Christmas roam the streets of Port Jefferson during the village’s annual Charles Dickens Festival. (Photo by Ron Ondrovic)
BY BRENDAN MANLEY
The Port Jefferson we know today
is a thriving hub for tourism on
Long Island’s North Shore, drawing
countless ferry-goers, shoppers, diners
and bar patrons to the village’s
brimming enclave. For many Long
Islanders it is the go-to spot for a
romantic date, and few simple pleasures
can match spending a sunny
day enjoying an ice cream cone and
a walk down its colorful streets.
Port Jefferson has changed dramatically
over the last two centuries,
transforming from a rural community
in the 1700s to a vibrant
shipbuilding town in the 1800s, to
the nightlife and leisure destination
of modern times. The village’s
ferry line to Connecticut, as well as
its Long Island Rail Road station,
ensure a steady stream of visitors
year-round.
“When they come for the day, they
can actually stay for the weekend,”
Port Jefferson Village Mayor
Margot Garant says while inviting
visitors to try the dining, entertainment
and hotel options.
Each December, tourists descend
upon the village for the annual
Port Jefferson Village Dickens
Festival, complete with revelers
dressed in 19th-century clothing,
house tours, winter-related poetry
readings, caroling and booths
featuring local businesses. The village
also hosts an annual outdoor
concert series and film screenings
at Harborfront Park throughout
July and August. And of course,
Harborfront Park is the hub of entertainment in downtown Port Jeff.